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Topic: Special Snowflake Stories (Read 8724645 times)

I think that everyone with a pool needs to check their local legal requirements to protect themselves, check their insurance company about what they recommend for both security and coverage, and be polite about maintaining firm boundaries on who is allowed to use their pool and when....and who is not.

The law varies.

But human nature does not - when it is HOT, we want to cool off and a pool looks like a great place to cool off. And not just to people, I've fished a strange dog out of a pool before....it took a while to figure out how it got into the fenced back yard.....

I was going to put this in the "Beggers, Moochers and Scammers" thread but upon reflection, it seems to be a better fit here since the subject certainly thought he was special!

I know someone whose husband, George, has a full time job but does a service job on the side (think something seasonal, like pool maintenance.) for a small group of people they know.

As soon as it gets warm, they are flooded with calls from everyone asking them to come by and service their pool. He is paid and most of the clients understand that he has a full time job and will do the service as soon as he can but I've heard awful stories. Some people can be very demanding and don't like to wait. AFAIK, George doesn't have any sort of contract with anyone dictating that he needs to respond to a call in any sort of time frame, he just has the ability and license to do the service and he's someone they can call when they need it. If he can't do it in the time frame they want, they're free to call anyone else.

Recently, they got a call from someone they did not know ("I got your number from Joe!") and this person demanded George come out immediately to service his pool. George told him that the earliest he could come out was on the weekend (in three days). This was "unacceptable!" and George "WILL come out and service his pool TODAY!!"

George told the man that is would not be possible and if he wanted to set up an appointment for Saturday, he could come out then. The man hung up on him.

Like the others (and a complete stranger to boot) he does not have any sort of contract with George, I have no idea why he thought George had an obligation to drop everything and scurry to his house to service his pool!

This was probably more a failure to communicate than a true SS story but I think it belongs here.

Our library had a staff of two and very limited seating space. The collections were also very special and we were considered the best library of its type in the Western Hemisphere. All this meant that researchers had to make appointments to visit.

Most researchers were very good about this but there were a few who didn't quite get it. They would make appointments, show up on time and do their work. On the way out, they would say how useful the visit had been. Before we learned better, we'd reply with something like, 'Good. You're welcome back any time'.

That was the big mistake. They believed that they literally could come back any time and would never have to make another appointment. That meant they would show up when we had no seats left, during our lunch hour or 15 minutes before we closed on a Friday.

Because English was a second language for many of these folks, our explanations sounded like we were backing out on a promise. It took some very delicate negotiations to stop the chaos.

When Dad was paying the bill, SS randomly chirped "I went to school with her! " All I could think was "Well no poop, Sherlock. Please don't try to snow us now with 'we were girlhood school chums who skipped and held hands'"

I'd have been *so* tempted to say, without any particular heat, "Yeah, you were really nasty to me." And turn and walk out.

I guess because you ignored that fact, she felt both safe to bring it up, and sort of miffed that it wasn't acknowledged.

When Dad was paying the bill, SS randomly chirped "I went to school with her! " All I could think was "Well no poop, Sherlock. Please don't try to snow us now with 'we were girlhood school chums who skipped and held hands'"

I'd have been *so* tempted to say, without any particular heat, "Yeah, you were really nasty to me." And turn and walk out.

I guess because you ignored that fact, she felt both safe to bring it up, and sort of miffed that it wasn't acknowledged.

I'd have been tempted to shrug and say out loud to your Dad (since he was the one she addressed), "That's funny, Dad. I don't remember her at all" thereby crushing any illusions in her own mind that her relentless torment had any effect on you at all.

When Dad was paying the bill, SS randomly chirped "I went to school with her! " All I could think was "Well no poop, Sherlock. Please don't try to snow us now with 'we were girlhood school chums who skipped and held hands'"

I'd have been *so* tempted to say, without any particular heat, "Yeah, you were really nasty to me." And turn and walk out.

I guess because you ignored that fact, she felt both safe to bring it up, and sort of miffed that it wasn't acknowledged.

I'd have been tempted to shrug and say out loud to your Dad (since he was the one she addressed), "That's funny, Dad. I don't remember her at all" thereby crushing any illusions in her own mind that her relentless torment had any effect on you at all.

Or, ooh, there's "oh, and you work here now?" and look around the restaurant a bit disdainfully, to imply that working as a waitress at a diner is not something to aspire to. (Not that I think there's anything wrong w/it--waitresses work hard! and their work is valuable, which is why I never tip less than 18% and often more than 20%)

When Dad was paying the bill, SS randomly chirped "I went to school with her! " All I could think was "Well no poop, Sherlock. Please don't try to snow us now with 'we were girlhood school chums who skipped and held hands'"

I'd have been *so* tempted to say, without any particular heat, "Yeah, you were really nasty to me." And turn and walk out.

I guess because you ignored that fact, she felt both safe to bring it up, and sort of miffed that it wasn't acknowledged.

I'd have been tempted to shrug and say out loud to your Dad (since he was the one she addressed), "That's funny, Dad. I don't remember her at all" thereby crushing any illusions in her own mind that her relentless torment had any effect on you at all.

Or, ooh, there's "oh, and you work here now?" and look around the restaurant a bit disdainfully, to imply that working as a waitress at a diner is not something to aspire to. (Not that I think there's anything wrong w/it--waitresses work hard! and their work is valuable, which is why I never tip less than 18% and often more than 20%)

I couldn't have used the "Oh, a waitress ?" bit, since I hand out samples at a grocery store.

We have a Panera Bread café near work. They are busy during lunch every day. I went a little late so that I could find a quiet spot to eat and study, and I found a side of the dining room that was pretty empty.

I dropped off my tote bag, then ordered my food, filled my cup, and waited for my food to be ready. All was well. About 5 minutes after I picked up my food, a pair of women came in, then sat next to me. They both took out devotional books, and each got water, but nothing else. I was there for thirty minutes after they arrived and they never bought food or coffee (Panera has items for less than $1 on their menu). They left just after I did.

Is it SS to go into a restaurant, drink their water and use their tables to meet someone without spending anything?

Logged

“All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."-J.R.R Tolkien

I wouldn't feel comfortable taking up table space for something like that, especially during a time of day when the table could be occupied by a paying customer. But I would wink at it if it happened during a lull, such as sometime between meals.

Logged

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. You have a right to be here. Be cheerful, strive to be happy. -Desiderata

We have a Panera Bread café near work. They are busy during lunch every day. I went a little late so that I could find a quiet spot to eat and study, and I found a side of the dining room that was pretty empty.

I dropped off my tote bag, then ordered my food, filled my cup, and waited for my food to be ready. All was well. About 5 minutes after I picked up my food, a pair of women came in, then sat next to me. They both took out devotional books, and each got water, but nothing else. I was there for thirty minutes after they arrived and they never bought food or coffee (Panera has items for less than $1 on their menu). They left just after I did.

Is it SS to go into a restaurant, drink their water and use their tables to meet someone without spending anything?

We have a Panera Bread café near work. They are busy during lunch every day. I went a little late so that I could find a quiet spot to eat and study, and I found a side of the dining room that was pretty empty.

I dropped off my tote bag, then ordered my food, filled my cup, and waited for my food to be ready. All was well. About 5 minutes after I picked up my food, a pair of women came in, then sat next to me. They both took out devotional books, and each got water, but nothing else. I was there for thirty minutes after they arrived and they never bought food or coffee (Panera has items for less than $1 on their menu). They left just after I did.

Is it SS to go into a restaurant, drink their water and use their tables to meet someone without spending anything?

It is highly SS, especially around where I live. Starbucks stores get used a lot as meeting spaces for groups and people buy coffee in order to use the table / wi-fi. I have seen it once where a person met another for a meeting and only got water. Their table mate got nothing. The baristas kept an eye on that table a lot because they thought the two were going to do something. Nope - just two men meeting for business who thought buying a cup of coffee was beneath them.

What was more SS to me about the whole experience is that one of the people had a reusable water bottle that she filled directly, without using another cup to transfer the water. That is against health code as well.

Logged

“All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."-J.R.R Tolkien

Is it SS to go into a restaurant, drink their water and use their tables to meet someone without spending anything?

As a former part-owner of a restaurant, I say "absolutely." The restaurant still has the expense of washing the glasses (or buying paper/plastic cups), cleaning the table if you spilled something, and probably, a water bill. Not much for two people, but it adds up, especially since I'll bet the ladies come in pretty often.

Definitely SS. You pay for your table space at any restaurant by purchasing food and/or drink, not just plant yourself there without recouping the business for the space you're using that paying customers now can't.